History Recap / MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E1TheCrystalEmpirePart1

* BeautyIsNeverTarnished: Averted once again for Cadance. After days without sleep she has bags under her eyes and droops with fatigue.

* CrystalSpiresAndTogas: Minus the togas, of course, due to the ponies' perpetual lack of clothing, but the Crystal Empire has this sort of vibe.

** Twilight wants Spike to quiz her on everything she's ever learned in her entire life on the off chance that some of it is on Celestia's time.

* AngstNuke: Twilight's anger over Spike saying it's "just a test" blows [[StuffBlowingUp the entire Golden Oaks Library]] into the air.

* BurningWithAnger: When Spike (after donning protective gear) tells a tense Twilight she's overreacting, we cut to a shot of Ponyville, where a charred version of the Golden Oaks Library momentarily launches into the air before falling back down.

* HappilyMarried: Cadance's lyrics from ''Canterlot Wedding part 2'' include 'love and cherish every day''. We see her that she and Shinning Armor are doing precisely that; their marriage is literally protecting the Crystal Empire.

* CrazyPrepared: Spike already has an army helmet and padding made out of pillows ready to put on before answering Twilight's question [[FelonyMisdemeanor on her overreacting about the test Princess Celestia prepared for her.]]
* CrazyPrepared: Twilight wants Spike to quiz her on everything she's ever learned in her entire life on the off chance that some of it is on Celestia's time.

* CastingAShadow: King Sombra ''[[LivingShadow is this]]''. Princess Celestia also does a demonstration on the subject for Twilight.

* BarrierMaiden: Princess Cadance copies Shining Armor from the wedding by projecting a protective field [[ThePowerOfLove of love]] around the Crystal Empire to keep King Sombra at bay. Unlike Shining, she must maintain the spell constantly, resulting in sleep-deprivation.

* [[ForgotAboutHisPowers Forgot About Her Powers]]: Twilight seemingly forgets she can teleport while running from King Sombra. Given the large group with her, it's possible she couldn't teleport them all; indeed herself and three people was a struggle back in [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2EDragonQuest Dragon Quest]]. It could also be she wasn't familiar with the area. Teleporting into a wall or one of those crystal spikes wouldn't end well.

* TakeOverTheWorld: While not stated aloud, during the demonstration that Princess Celestia gives Twilight, she explains that the hope, love, and positive feelings of the Crystal Ponies allow prosperity to flow out from the land to the world entire. Ff that turns to fear and despair, the demonstration shows the dark crystals spreading beyond the Crystal Empire, indicating that by making the Crystal Ponies his miserable slaves, Sombra would be able to spread power throughout the land. [[FridgeHorror So if Sombra held an evil version of the Crystal Fair using the Crystal Heart, it would cause misery and despair to fill the entire world.]]

* BrickJoke: W
** hen the mane six ask if there are any books on the history of the Crystal Empire, the librarian responds that she doesn't know, because she can't remember. She doesn't even know if she actually works in the library at all. A few scenes later, when she regains her coloration, she happily shouts "I DO work at the library!"

* AntiMagic / PowerNullifer: While trying to defend Twilight and her friends, Shining Armor is cursed by King Sombra, rendering his magic unusable. Sombra's ability to do this is the former and the black crystals manifesting on Shining's horn are the latter.

According to Princess Celestia, the Crystal Empire was ruled by King Sombra, an evil unicorn whose heart was black as night. Because the Crystal Empire reflects the nature of the ruler across all of Equestria--bringing light and happiness if the ruler is benevolent and darkness and sorrow if the ruler is a tyrant--the Princesses transformed Sombra into a shadowy cloud and banished him to the arctic wastes, but not before he cursed the Crystal Empire to disappear along with him. Celestia tasks Twilight and her friends with aiding Shining Armor and Princess Cadance in finding a way to help protect the Crystal Empire from falling back into Sombra's hooves. Celestia reassures her student that she will succeed, and will proceed to the next level of her studies upon her return. But as she leaves, Celestia tells her that she, and she alone, must be the one to help Cadance and Shining Armor in doing what needs to be done.

Twilight, Spike, and the rest of the Mane 6 travel to the Frozen North and are greeted by Shining Armor, who urges them to follow him quickly, as the Empire "isn't the only thing that's returned." As they cross the tundra, Shining Armor informs them that King Sombra has been attempting to invade the Empire. Twilight questions what point there is in finding a way to protect the Empire if it's already being protected when King Sombra, in the form of a shadowy mass, attacks and chases them. Shining Armor stays behind to hold King Sombra off while the others reach the Empire, only for Sombra to curse his horn, preventing him from using his magic.

The Mane 6 meet Princess Cadance, who it turns out has been using her own magic to form a protective shield around the Empire that is keeping King Sombra out. However, she has grown weak due to the constant concentration required to keep it active. Twilight comes up with the idea to interview the Crystal Ponies, and the Mane 6 set out to find a way to restore the Crystal Empire to the way it had been. They find that the residents--in a rather dull coloration for a bright kingdom--can't remember anything before King Sombra came to power, and don't ''want'' to remember anything about his reign. They head to a nearby library to look for information, and Twilight finds a book with information on the Crystal Fair, a festival that will unite the hearts of the Crystal Ponies. Central to this fair is something called the Crystal Heart, but as they do not have one, Twilight cuts one out of a crystal block to use as a substitute.

Twilight summons the Crystal Ponies to the fair, and as they begin to enjoy themselves, their previously dull coloration begins to brighten, as does their mood, and they begin to remember their previous lives. However, Rainbow Dash overhears a remark that the Crystal Heart is in fact an artifact that the Crystal Ponies power with their love and unity, and that King Sombra hid the Crystal Heart where it would never be found. Rainbow Dash manages to cover up the fake heart quickly and tells Twilight about the problem. Twilight Sparkle finds the last page in the book had been removed by King Sombra to preempt any attempts at discovering the Heart's significance. Princess Cadance suddenly faints and the magic shield surrounding the Crystal Empire vanishes. King Sombra, now seeing his chance, begins to advance into the kingdom...

* AndIMustScream: King Sombra was apparently 'turned to shadow' and banished to the ice of the arctic north. Whether that entails this is unclear as of yet.
** The Crystal Ponies were kept as Sombra's SlaveRace, and have spent the last thousand years after his defeat with no contact with the outside world and stuck in a state of despair and unhappiness. Worsening it is the fact that they have ''no'' memory of the time before that, meaning all they could remember during that time was being his slaves.
*** Mitigated a little by the fact that the Crystal Ponies are under the impression that they were just part of Equestria "yesterday", implying that they didn't live out the thousand years they had disappeared for, but simply skipped forward in time, ''Theatre/{{Brigadoon}}''-style.

* AntiMagic: While trying to defend Twilight and her friends, Shining Armor gets his horn cursed by King Sombra, rendering his magic unusable.

* BigBad: King Sombra.
* BrickJoke: When the mane six ask if there are any books on the history of the Crystal Empire, the librarian responds that she doesn't know, because she can't remember. She doesn't even know if she actually works in the library at all. A few scenes later, when she regains her coloration, she happily shouts "I DO work at the library!"

* CallBack: This isn't the first time Fluttershy has [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E2TheReturnOfHarmonyPart2 drawn back menacingly behind other ponies only to be very gentle]].

** And apparently she kept her [[SpyCatsuit Spy]] [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E20ItsAboutTime outfit.]]
** Applejack dryly remarks to Rarity that Twilight is taking the possibility of failing her test rather well... [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E3LessonZero considering]].

--> '''Cadance''': [[LampshadeHanging One of these days, we're going to have to do this when the fate of Equestria isn't hanging in the balance]].
*** This eventually happens in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E12GamesPoniesPlay "Games Ponies Play"]].

** A [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E1MareInTheMoon banished ruler somehow manages to escape]], returning to wreak havoc and resume their rule.

* ContinuityNod: A new stained glass window depicts [[spoiler:[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E26ACanterlotWeddingPart2 Shining Armor and Princess Cadance using]] ThePowerOfLove [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E26ACanterlotWeddingPart2 to save Canterlot]].]]
* CosmicKeystone: Crystal Empire acts as this for all of Equestria in that if it's in a state of harmony, it will spread to all of Equestria. If it's in a state of darkness, it also spreads throughout Equestria.
** And the Crystal Heart acts like this for the Crystal Empire.

* CrystalSpiresAndTogas: Minus the togas, of course, due to the ponies' perpetual lack of clothing, but the Crystal Empire definitely has this sort of vibe.

* TheDarkTimes: King Sombra ruled the Crystal Empire with an iron hoof, relegating its populace into slavery. Even after being freed, the once cheerful Crystal Ponies are still miserable, and shudder in fear at the memory of Sombra's rule.

* TheDreaded: If the reaction of the Crystal Pony that Twilight speaks to is any indication, King Sombra is apparently this for the Crystal Ponies. The way that Celestia talks about him implies this is far from unwarranted. Shining Armor also displays fear when speaking of him.

* [[DullEyesOfUnhappiness Dull Coats of Unhappiness]]: The crystal ponies have washed out color schemes to go with their depressed voices.
** Even when they're happier at the prospect and events of the Crystal Fair, their coats don't gain the incredible sparkling lustre they should have, instead simply looking like regular (though still fancy) Earth Ponies.
* EternalEnglish: Despite having been gone for a thousand years, the crystal ponies speak modern English, [[FridgeLogic which can't be said for Princess Luna]].
* TheExile: King Sombra was turned into shadow and sealed in an icy crevice by Princesses Celestia and Luna for the enslaving of the ponies of the Crystal Empire. His banishment doesn't last forever, though.

* FailedASpotCheck: Twilight, the book fanatic, missing the fact that the last page of the book was torn out?
* FisherKing: Under the rule of King Sombra, the Crystal Empire basically became {{Mordor}}. In this case, Sombra is shown corrupting the land with his evil magic.
* FishOutOfTemporalWater: The Crystal Ponies are apparently unaware that the Crystal Empire has been gone for a thousand years. When they're told, they understandably have a hard time believing it.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Celestia tells Luna that if Twilight succeeds in saving the Crystal Empire they will know she is that much closer to being ready for something, but doesn't say what.

* [[ForgotAboutHisPowers Forgot About Her Powers]]: Twilight seemingly forgets she can teleport while running from King Sombra. Though given the large group with her, its possible she simply couldn't have teleported them all.
** It could also be she wasn't familiar with the area. Teleporting into a wall or one of those crystal spikes probably wouldn't end well.

* GenericDoomsdayVillain: King Sombra. Although he manages to be one of the most [[DangerouslyGenreSavvy competent villains in the show]], he doesn't have much in the way of actual characterization or history like the other villains in the series (not helped by him speaking very little), and spends most of the two-parter as more of a wave of blackness rather than an actual character. [[spoiler:And he apparently dies, so it looks like he'll never get fleshed out.]]

* TheInsomniac: Poor Cadance hasn't gotten any sleep since arriving at the Crystal Empire.

* MerchandiseDriven: Toys from this line are scheduled for 2013, and some Target-exclusive sets have already been released in physical stores.
** LateArrivalSpoiler: Inverted. The Target-exclusive sets actually spoiled some things about this arc ''before'' any clips from the episodes were released!
** King Sombra is a normal unicorn (when he's not a smoke monster) which is presumably much easier for Hasbro to manufacture than (say) Discord.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Maybe it's not as bad as previous times, but Twilight forging a crystal heart without realizing that an actual one is out there, and indispensable, may not have been her brightest move.
** While Shining Armor succeeded in keeping the mane six safe, trying to take on King Sombra ended with his magic sealed and thus unable to help Cadance protect the empire.
* NightVisionGoggles: Worn by Pinkie.
** [[CloudCuckooLander During the day]].
** But even if she wasn't instantly blinded, modern night vision devices give you infamously bad depth perception to the point where soldiers and pilots have to train in their use constantly to stay sharp. [[FridgeBrilliance Pinkie didn't stand a chance against that crystal spire.]]

* OhCrap: When the Mane Six learn that the Crystal Heart is a specific item.
* OrcusOnHisThrone: After sealing Shining Armor's magic, King Sombra spends the rest of the episode waiting for Cadance to tire without actually doing anything to hurry the process along. Justified as contact with the shield seems physically painful for him. [[spoiler:It is shown to be able to cut through his horn at the very start of Part 2.]]
* PowerCrystal: The Crystal Heart.
* PowerNullifier: King Sombra seals Shining Armor's magic after their run-in.
* PrincessesRule: A subtle aversion. While Twilight is looking through the history of the Crystal Ponies, she finds the crystal fair that was set up by their first queen.
* RaceAgainstTheClock: The heroes only have so much time to find a way to stop King Sombra before Cadance's magic gives out and the barrier she's maintaining to seal him out fades.
* RedEyesTakeWarning: King Sombra. Pretty much a literal case, as simply remembering his gaze causes one of the Crystal Ponies to shudder in fear.
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: [[AllThereInTheManual According to the toyline]], Shining Armor now runs the Crystal Empire with Princess Cadance (take that as you will). He also accompanies the Mane Six in their adventure to protect the empire.
** Cadance uses her magic to put a protective field of love around the Crystal Empire to keep King Sombra out, though she can't even sleep while doing so.
* SayingSoundEffectsOutLoud: Pinkie Pie's playing of the crystal flügelhorn involves her shouting the word "flügelhorn" through the flügelhorn. She does love her InherentlyFunnyWords.

* SecretTestOfCharacter: Celestia gives one to Twilight.

* {{Squee}}: Rarity once she finds out about the Crystal Ponies.
** Rarity likewise has this reaction upon seeing the Empire for the first time. Twilight has a similar reaction when she sees the library.

* SuperOCD: Twilight Sparkle in preparing for the "test" that she thinks she's been summoned to Canterlot for.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: When the musical score kicks in during "The Failure Song", it sounds VERY similar to the main theme of ''YoungSherlockHolmes''.

* TakeOverTheWorld: While not stated aloud, during the demonstration that Princess Celestia gives Twilight, Celestia explains that the hope, love, and positive feelings of the Crystal Ponies allow prosperity to flow out from the land to the world entire. And if that turns to fear and despair, the demonstration shows the dark crystals spreading beyond the Crystal Empire, indicating that by making the Crystal Ponies his miserable slaves, Sombra would be able to make his power spread throughout the land. [[FridgeHorror So if Sombra held an evil version of the Crystal Fair using the Crystal Heart, it would cause misery and despair to fill the entire world, and since Sombra's power runs on hate and fear, well, you do the math.]]
* TakingYouWithMe: Before being banished, King Sombra puts a curse on the Crystal Empire that causes it to vanish.

* VanishingVillage: The Crystal Empire.

--> '''Librarian:''' [[spoiler:"Of course you can't! [[OhCrap But I thought King Sombra hid the Crystal Heart away somewhere nopony would ever find it.]]"]]
* WellIntentionedReplacement: Twilight was quite confident that her magically carved crystal heart was enough to serve as the centrepiece of the Crystal Fair. Turns out it wasn't.
* YouShallNotPass: While running from King Sombra, Shining Armor remains behind to hold him off so the Mane Six and Spike can reach the Crystal Empire safely. He survives, but gets his horn corrupted and unable to cast his defensive spell to help Cadance.

* FunnyBackgroundEvent: Pinkie Pie after removing her "Fluttershy" disguise leaves it there on the ground. As the other ponies talk, Fluttershy walks to the rest of the group and reacts appropriate to seeing what looks like her skin on the ground.

* DataCrystal: Celestia keeps a crystal that stores a hologram [[spoiler:of her and Luna deposing King Sombra.]]

** Royals were supposed to speak differently from peasantry back then. Also note that we still don't know just ''how'' old those two really are.

*** Mitigated a little by the fact that the Crystal Ponies are under the impression that they were just part of Equestria "yesterday", implying that they didn't live out the thousand years they had disappeared for, but simply skipped forward in time, ''{{Brigadoon}}''-style.

* DreadfulMusician: Nopony enjoys hearing Pinkie play the crystal flugelhorn.

** Even when they're happier at the prospect and events of the Crystal Fair, their coats don't gain the incredible sparkling luster they should have, instead simply looking like regular (though still fancy) Earth Ponies.

** Royals were supposed to speak differently back then.

* FishOutOfTemporalWater: The Crystal Ponies are apparently unaware that the Crystal Empire has been gone for a thousand years.

%%NOTE: The folowing trope is not a subjective trope. The page does not have the YMMV banner.

* GenericDoomsdayVillain: King Sombra. Although he manages to be one of the most [[DangerouslyGenreSavvy competent villains in the show]], he doesn't have much in the way of actual characterization or history like the other villains in the series (not helped by him speaking very little) and spends most of the two-parter as more of a wave of blackness rather than an actual character. [[spoiler:And he apparently dies, so it looks like he'll never get fleshed out.]]

* SayingSoundEffectsOutLoud: Pinkie Pie's playing of the crystal flugelhorn involves her shouting the word "flugelhorn" through the flugelhorn. She does love her InherentlyFunnyWords.

--> '''Librarian:''' [[spoiler: "Of course you can't! [[OhCrap But I thought King Sombra hid the Crystal Heart away somewhere nopony would ever find it.]]"]]

*** Mitigated a little by the fact that the Crystal Ponies are under the impression that they were just part of Equestria "yesterday", implying that they didn't live out the thousand years they had disappears for, but simply skipped forward in time, ''{{Brigadoon}}''-style.